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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS War Hawk (AP-168)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Delta - Quebec - India
 NDQI
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, Lingayen Gulf, 10 January 1945) - China Service Medal (extended)
Second Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3) - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)
Personnel Awards

Purple Heart (61-KIA, Lingayen Gulf, 10 January 1945)
La Salle Class Transport:
  • Laid down, 24 December 1942, as SS War Hawk, a Maritime Commission type (C2-S-B1) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1154), at Moore Dry Dock Co., Oakland, CA.
  • Launched, 3 April 1943
  • Transferred to Waterman Steamship Corp., 18 November 1943, under a General Agency Agreement for operation for the War Shipping Administration
  • Commissioned USS War Hawk (AP-168), 9 March 1944, CDR. Stanley H. Thompson, USNR, in command
  • During WWII USS War Hawk was assigned to Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Marianas operation
    Capture and occupation of Saipan, 15 to 22 June 1944
    Capture and occupation of Guam, 21 to 29 July 1944     		Luzon operation
    Lingayen Gulf landings, 9 to 10 January 1945
    Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 22 October, 18 November 1944     		 

  • Following World War II USS War Hawk was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    3 to 6 November 19457 to 24 November 1945
    14 January to 1 February 194630 May to 5 July 1946
    23 March to 5 April 1946 

  • Decommissioned, 12 August 1946
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission, 13 August 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia, WA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 8 October 1946
  • USS War Hawk earned three battle stars for her World War II service
  • Merchant Service
    Acquired by Waterman Steamship Co. Inc., Mobile, AL, 1 April 1948, under a General Agency Agreement
    Purchased, 1 October 1948 by Waterman Steamship Co. Inc., title passed same day
    Sold by Waterman Steamship Co., Inc. to Ocean Transportation Co. Inc., N.Y. in 1954, renamed SS Ocean Dinny
    Sold by Ocean Transportation Co. Inc, to Overseas Carrier Corp., 17 December 1965, renamed SS Overseas Dinny
    Dropped from the American Shipping Board Register, 1970
    Final Disposition, sold, 18 January 1971, to Hung Shing Wire Works Co. Ltd. for scrapping in Taiwan
    Specifications:
    Displacement 6,556 t.(lt) 13,910 t.(fl)
    Length 459' 2"
    Beam 63'
    Draft 23' (lim)
    Speed 16.5 kts (trial)
    Complement
    Officers 33
    Enlisted 349
    Troop Accommodations
    Officers 74
    Enlisted 1,516
    Cargo Capacity 2,100 DWT
    non-refrigerated, 130,000 Cu ft.
    Largest Boom Capacity 30 t.
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount
    four single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    twelve single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO 10,300 Bbls
    Diesel 880 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one General Electric steam turbine
    two Foster and Wheeler D-type boilers, 450psi 750°
    double General Electric Main Reduction Gears
    three turbo-drive 250Kw 240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    single propeller, 6,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    USS War Hawk (AP-168)
    War Hawk 70k USS War Hawk (AP-168) in San Francisco Bay near Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, 23 May 1945.
    US National Archives Photo No. 19-N-85367, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Robert Hurst
    War Hawk 29k USS War Hawk (AP-168) at anchor, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Hyperwar US Navy in WWII web site
    War Hawk
    092216804    		 126k USS War Hawk (AP-168) underway in San Francisco Bay at the end of a Magic Carpet voyage circa 1945-1946.
    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 83400    		 Darryl Baker
    Merchant Service Ocean Transportation Co.
    War Hawk 150k Stern view of ex-USS War Hawk (AP-168) in Merchant service as the Ocean Transportation Co.'s SS Ocean Dinny working cargo at Bremerhaven, Germany in August 1964. Photo by Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    USS War Hawk (AP-168)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    With additional comments by James S Alumbaugh MoMM2/c USNR USS War Hawk
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Thompson, Stanley Hudson USNR9 March 1944 - 20 December 1945
    02CAPT. Bacon Jr., Barton Elijah, USN (USNA 1925)20 December 1945 - 12 August 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Transport (AP) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 19 May 2023